((May I request that you not progress the plot -too- far? I'd like to get some action too And Cassie has a sling, which looks like a belt but can throw tennis-ball sized projectiles with deadly force.))

((Kris'll die, I think; that way, his Legends will conveniently disappear (i.e., die out of depression). it'll be good for plot development. and, yeah, we won't get too far, lol. i'll just initiate the running battle, then probably be done for today.))
We hurried out of the store, having just payed for the bare necessities. Unfortunately, at that exact moment, a Jeep pulled up.

There were four Rockets inside.

One of them stood up, and called out to us. "Attention, you five!! We need you to come with us and answer a few questions. You will not be harmed, but a failure to comply will result in allowing us to use deadly force." I shook my head. "Sir, we've done nothing wrong; so if you don't mind, we'll just be on our wa-" A shot rang out.

Kris crumpled to the ground. I heard Latios call out, NOOOO!! Celebi, DON'T-- they're gone, Axel! They disappeared; Celebi went somewhen, and Entei is really upset. Whatdowedo, whatdow- I tuned him out, and ran over to Kris.

No pulse.

I stood up. "Get ready for battle, guys; we're gonna have to fight our way out." I picked up Kris's body, and Latios shimmered into view beside me. "LATIOS!! USE LUSTER PURGE!!" A great flash of light, then the four of us were running past the Jeep. The Rocket commander rubbed his eyes, then yelled into a walkie talkie, "GET THEM!!" And the chase was on.
((okay, so S_E and Bou, Kris is now dead; if there was a mistake in me and LM's reasoning for this, i'll edit it out. So, yeah; fight time. It'll be a running battle up the mountain, so this should take more than a few posts.))

"He's gone. All we are is dust in the wind..." I said as I ran. "No cheap swords and rifles. Just these." I unsheathed my giant knife, and took out my largest pistol. Even with the silencer, the knife was just bigger. I turned around, and started shooting behind me as I ran. The windshield engulfed the bullet. Bulletproof. "We're going to have to stop soon. Get ready to fight!"

Wait where'd Entei's Pokeball g--

The furious bass roar interrupted Cassie's thoughts even as the woman reached down and pulled out a longknife in one hand, slipping brass knuckles onto the other. Entei materialized from his Pokeball behind the Rockets' vehicle, cutting off all reinforcements as he bellowed his fury at his partner's death, eyes red as he blew a massive gout of flames at the enemy. "Entei, stop!" Cassie attempted to call him off, but the fire-type was completely out of control.

Suicune's Pokeball vibrated and popped open, the blue Water-type nudging Cassie with his muzzle urgently.

We have to stop him!

"I know, but let's stop the Rockets first!" Cassie shouted back. "Use Aurora Beam on the ground under that car's wheels!"

Planting his forepaws, Suicune took a deep breath and then spat a beam of ice at the ground, freezing it over and sending the leading car into a wild spin.

The car slid down a sheet of black ice, that had frozen over on the road and crashed into a tree. The Rockets jumped out and, like a pack of angry wolves, they approached us. I lunged at one with my knife. The grunt flipped me, and sent me flying into a bush. I plucked the leaves from my mouth, and took out another pistol. "Don't charge them! They know Judo."

"You okay?" Cassie flicked a glance at him-- one goon lunged in her moment of distraction-- Suicune roared and lunged forward, but there was a howl from the woods and a blue-and-silver blur shot over the woman's head, landing a powerful kick to the man's jaw that sent him flying into another goon and both into a tree with an impact that made the tree groan ominously.

Lucario landed beside his trainer, growling and bristling, the fur on the back of his neck standing up as Suicune's mane began to bristle, the air temperature dropping noticeably while Entei wreaked havoc among the other grunts.

"I'm fine. Just keep fighting." On the outside, I wasn't fine. I was scratched, bruised, and gashed open. My knife was stuck at the top of a tree not to far from here. Screw it, I'll just use more guns. I took out another pistol from my bag, and dashed across the battlefield. I fired some random shots, and landed a few in a burly male grunt's arm. I took cover in the jeep, and shot down the grunt.
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A red flash of light blasted out of a pokeball on my belt. I should have known Raikou wouldn't miss a battle for his life. The tiger lunged for the throat of a goon standing by the tree my knife was still stuck in, and threw him into Entai's path.

"Forget fighting fair." Cassie snarled, frightening rage twisting her features into an almost unrecognizable mask of fury. "Kill them all."

She threw a Pokeball to the ground-- almost before he finished materializing, Anomander loosed a blast of blue flames, enveloping the attacking Rockets in what was basically biologically generated napalm, the blue flame meeting Entei's gout of red fire in mid-air, creating a resounding explosion and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"Thank you!" I felt as if an immense pressure had been lifted. I ducked under the car, took a glass bottle lying on the floor, and drained some gas from the jeep's punctured gas tank. I took a strip of cloth from a ripped shirt, and lit up a match. "Molotov Cocktail anyone?" I launched the projectile, and it broke on top of a grunt, severely burning him, and burning the two grunts surrounding him. Flames scattered across the road.

Cassie leapt over the flames from the Molotov, Lucario close behind, the two plowing into the wave of oncoming Grunts who were distracted by the angry Charizard and Entei, both spewing flames and lashing out left and right. Lucario let out a howl as he dove into the masses, punches and kicks sending the humans flying.

I was just about out off ammo, until Raikou let loose a massive lightning bolt. All the metal in the area was magnetized. The Rocket's weapons stuck to the jeep, most of which were knives. One Rocket did end
up having an Uzi, which I immediately took of the magnetized jeep. I launched a barrage of bullets into the flames, which were now so tall, I couldn't see over them. "Are the dead yet?"

"Cari?" Cassie glanced at the Fighting type-- he concentrated, then barked once. "Cari says they're all done for. Now if you'll excuse me, Suicune and I have a raging Entei to stop." She recalled Lucario and vaulted to the legendary beast's back, Suicune spraying a blast of water to put out the flames even as he leapt over them lightly, nearly tackling Entei to the ground.

Brother, stop! You'll hurt our humans!

They're all the same! Entei snarled, trying to move around the blue beast. They killed my friend, I want blood!

"Entei, peace." Cassie slipped off Suicune's back and moved to stand in front of the legendary beast, her eyes meeting his, calm and unafraid as she spread her hands to show that she was harmless. "We all suffer pain and loss in our lifetimes. Every single one of us. It is how we react to it that defines us."

The dust settled, and the fire died down. I could see Entai rampaging. "Raikou, you think you can help?" The tiger didn't say a word. He dashed over to Entai, and tried with Cassie and Suicune to calm him down. "I... I have to find Kris. Don't kill anyone else without me." I started off towards Kris's body.

Raikou came up on Cassie's other side-- the woman rested her hand on the tiger's back, feeling static crackle under her fingers as she petted him gently in thanks. "Please, Entei... listen to me. Calm down now. Save your anger for those who deserve it."

She held the Fire-type's gaze steadily, before Entei blew out a long breath, lowering his shaggy head. You are a good human, you have not lied to us. I trust you.

Cassie smiled gently and moved forward to hug Entei, stroking his shaggy fur with a hand. "Thank you."

I was standing over Kris's dead body. It feels terrible standing over the body of your team member. I took his ammunition and weapons, and all of the items he had on him. I sent out my Aggron, and asked him to dig a hole. I carved on a rock 'Kris: Friend, Team Member, and Great Trainer. Age 13'. Once the hole reached 6 feet deep, I lowered him in, and covered the hole. The grave stone sat at the top. "He was a great kid, and he died too young. He still needed a full life." I took his pokemon out of his bag. They needed a good owner, and Kris was the only one who truly bonded with them. "C'mon. The dead has been buried. There's nothing we can do." I said to Cobalt. We walked back, to find that Entai was perfectly calm.

Cassie looked up as Eric and his Aggron approached, keeping a hand on Entei's mane as Raikou bounded back to his human. "I think I'll keep Entei with me for safety's sake... what do we do with Kris' other Pokemon, since Celebi vanished? Keeping them with us wouldn't exactly be practical, nor would the Pokemon like it..."

"If he had any contacts or relatives, we should give them the pokemon. The bond has really been severed between the pokemon and their trainer. They'd be looking for leadership." I shrugged. "Maybe we need a strong trainer to take care of them."

((sorry i haven't been on!! i'll just put myself after the battle, at the funeral...))

Laying a solitary flower on the grave, I said a quick prayer, and walked over to the others.

Sighing, I added, "That's probaby a good idea, but we may just have to release them; we can't mail the pokeballs without giving away our location."

It hurt, deep down. A gaping maw, an absolute emptiness... The guilt was ripping me apart. I decided who would go and who wouldn't... If we hadn't gone to the town, Kris would still be alive... I felt that it was my fault that Kris had died, that his Pokemon no longer had a Trainer, and that his parents might not ever find out where their son was buried. We had killed, slaughtered, tortured, and maimed under my leadership... And we had come around from that disastrous way of life. And yet, the death of someone cloer to me than anyone had been since my parents, felt like the world ending. I wondered if my sins were catching up with me and my friends... A single tear ran down my cheek.

No matter what, I will make up for this costly mistake. We will win this fight. I walked away from the others, distraught as never before.

((okay, so, LM, where are we going next?? we have supplies from the raid, and fuel, so that's good...))

"I am not aware of any contacts or relatives." Cassie lowered her head as she stroked Entei's shaggy fur gently, taking a Luxury Ball from her belt and recalling the Fire type. "I think the only thing we can do is release them. We can't take care of so many Pokemon at once, and as Axel said, mailing the Pokeballs is a safety problem."

She touched the headstone with one hand, before lifting her head, squaring her shoulders, and walking resolutely towards the woods. "We need to rejoin the others. We'll send Flannery and Erika to Steven and Blue, then we'll take Clair and Volkner with us and go find Lance."

I nodded. Action was good.

Catching up to Cassie, I commented, "At least we got the fuel and basic supplies. Without them, Kris's death would have been next to meaningless."

Kabu came up, and I put him back in his ball. I continued walking. Soon enough, we came back to Clair's caves. She was waiting at the entrance.

"Your Pokemon came through with the fuel. But, Entei soon became incredibly angry; in his rage, he destroyed some of out equipment..." She sighed, then continued. "Kris's Pokeballs were destroyed, and his Pokemon ran off into the wilderness... He'll have to go looking for them." Looking around, she suddenly became bewildered. "Wait, where is he?? I thought he went with you.."

I shook my head sadly. "Kris was killed by the Rockets. We were ambushed in the town, and Cassie managed to calm Entei. But at least we still have the fuel, so we can go look for Lance. We'll probably be able to go in about twenty minutes. I'm gonna go get ready." I walked past Clair, into the caves.

"I guess I'll gas up the chopper?" I took one of the containers of gasoline, and walked out to the chopper.
----------------------------------
"Dammit. Dammit. Dammit." I was torturing myself over Kris's death in the front seat of the chopper. I never got closure with him. I never forgave him for our fights, or told him that I though he was a friend. It was the same way with my parents.
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"We're ready, Axel!" I exclaimed from the entrance to the cave.

((Sorry for delayed reply... life's been mad.))

"We're ready to go too." Volkner patted Cassie's shoulder gently as he walked past her to the helicopter, Clair giving the youngsters a sympathetic look as she walked out.

Cassie entered the helicopter, letting Latias out of her ball. The Eon Pokemon cooed sadly and nuzzled her human-- the woman wrapped her arms around the Psychic type and held on. "I should have been able to save him..."

Don't be sad. There was nothing you could have done. And you stopped Entei from killing us and more innocents.

((lol yeah i think it has been for all of us))

In my cave, I had gathered up my few belongings, clothes, and supplies, and put them inside a small backpack from the town. I sighed. Life was so unfair, but it had to move on. Standing up, I walked out of the caves.

Emerging into the afternoon light, I looked out on the chopper. Pretty much everyone else was already in the chopper. I walked towards it, Latios floating at my side. I climbed in, and sat down between Clair and Cassie. "Alright, Eric, I think we're ready to go; to the Sierra Nevada, if you please." Latios nuzzled my chin. Don't worry, Axel; everything will be better soon. I know it. I nodded. I hope so, buddy. I really do.

((Should we wait on S_E and/or Bou?))

((*sigh* i guess we should, but S_E probably won't even be on for the rest of the day; i'd say go ahead and post... this RP is dying a slow and painful death T_T.... lol jk. but really, i'll try to be more active))